Explosive Indian batsman Suryakumar Yadav, childhood coach Ashok Aswalkar has advised the Men in Blue to play normal cricket when they face Australia in the 2024 T20 World Cup. In a heavyweight clash, he said not to experiment too much against the Aussies , who are coming into the game after being humiliated by Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s spirited performance left Australia in a peculiar situation. Australia will now enter the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia to face India in a must-win game on Monday.
As India prepare to take on Australia in the clash of cricketing heavyweights, Aswalkar said the Men in Blue need to play their normal game as they have done in the last six matches. Aswalkar also praised the performance of Indian bowling ace Jasprit Bumrah, who is in excellent form in the T20 World Cup. The pacer picked 10 wickets in just five games.
“Our opening games are slowly starting to gather pace. If they can improve their game in a match against Australia, nothing could be better than this for India. Try to play normal cricket, don’t do too many experiments. They have to play the same way they did in the last five or six matches. They just need to play a normal game against the Australian bowling team, which is special,” Aswalkar told ANI.
India have selected four spinners for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, but pace was the main component of their attack in the first phase of the tournament. Talking about India’s decision to pick four spinners in the T20 WC, Aswalkar said, “Rohit Sharma has answered this question. Rohit knows which combination to choose. Kuldeep Yadav is a perfect option for India, his slow bowling on the slow wicket works wonders.” “
Suryakumar has been the backer of India’s two most recent victories in the landmark event, as he smashed half-centuries against Afghanistan. Aswalkar wants Suryakumar to play without pressure as he has been playing in the last few matches and advises wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant “not to play the reverse shot”.
“He needs some time. He has batting power and India needs to utilize him somewhere. Rishabh Pant is playing the wrong shots and losing his wicket. Suryakumar, Rishabh and everyone is performing well. I just advise the wicketkeeper batsman not to play the reverse shot. I want Suryakumar to play without any pressure,” Aswalkar said.
Meanwhile, a lively Afghanistan humiliated 2021 champions Australia to claim their first victory over the cricketing powerhouse. Aswalkar said Afghanistan has the best bowling variations in cricket, Australia treated them lightly and lost the match.
“The underdogs always think about winning the match against the big teams. Afghanistan have the best bowlers in terms of variation. Afghanistan’s bowling can beat any team in the World Cup, don’t underestimate them in future matches. Australia has a long batting line-up, but Afghanistan had its day and won the match,” he added.
Australia will face the challenge of India in search of a place in the semi-finals following their defeat to Afghanistan, where they suffered a shock 21-run defeat in their penultimate Super Eights game, on Monday in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup .
India are currently top of the Group 1 standings with four points, while Australia (second) and Afghanistan (third) share two points each with Bangladesh and are yet to win a Super Eight match.
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